The Legislative Assembly (LA) approved amendments to the University Student Government (USG) resignation guidelines to address ambiguities in its enforcement over Laguna Campus Student Government (LCSG) officers in their session last March 19. The changes came after legislators were unable to agree on the interpretation of the rules while deliberating on the appointment of Javi Pascual as LCSG LA Representative last week.
The LA was also finally able to designate majority and minority floor leaders after a series of appointments shifted the headcount of both floors.
Amendments to resignation rules
Separate provisions for LCSG officers were added as amendments to the resignation guidelines. This was because, according to LCSG LA Representative Pauline Carandang, the small population of the Laguna Campus makes it more difficult to find replacements for vacating officers.
According to the revised rules, replacement officers for the LCSG Campus President, LCSG Campus Secretary, and LCSG Campus Treasurer must have completed at least three full terms in the University to be considered eligible for appointment, while replacements for LCSG LA Representatives and College Representatives seats only require one full term.
The resolution also revised the rule on public announcements, which previously required a hard copy and a soft copy to be disseminated, to include publications that can be uploaded and disseminated through USG units and media organizations. The Campus Secretary and Executive Secretary will be mandated to release such notices.
Other resignations, appointments
The successful revision of the resignation guidelines also enabled Pascual’s appointment as LCSG LA Representative, which was left on the table last week.
Judiciary Inspector General Elijah Flores presented a legal memorandum concerning Pascual’s eligibility but emphasized that the memorandum “should not be treated as an enforceable decision by the Magistrates of the Judiciary.”
Flores stated that the previous resignation guidelines were unclear on whether the LCSG LA Representative should be classified as a batch-level or a college-level position. He proposed possible courses of action to address the ambiguity but refrained from explaining further as the proponents had already followed his earlier suggestion and passed revisions to the resignation guidelines.
An LA Representative for BLAZE2020 was also appointed, with Anton Mapoy taking the position.
Mapoy revealed plans to incentivize students when accomplishing activities like pre-enlistment. “I believe in the power of incentives,” he told legislators. “Incentives are what drive human behavior…I’d like to push this idea among us and possibly reassess student privileges.”
Mapoy also proposed forming an ad hoc committee that would aid Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business Academic Programming Officer Lilibeth Sutilo but did not specify how.
Meanwhile, 72nd ENG LA Representative Ethan Rupisan and EDGE2018 Batch Vice President Yuka Rebamba resigned from their batch government seats, citing academic responsibilities.
Floor assignments
The newly appointed LA representatives chose the floors they would join.
CATCH2T21 LA Representative Shasha Villaroman and Pascual both joined Floor 1 headed by FAST2018 LA Representative Marts Madrelejos, while FAST2017 LA Representative Luis Martinez and Mapoy chose Floor 2 under FAST2019 LA Representative Lara Jomalesa.
With the updated headcount, Floor 1, which now had 12 members, was named the minority floor, while Floor 2, which now had 13, became the majority floor.
